What Is Chop Suey?
Chop Suey ( 杂碎, zásuì in Mandarin ) refers to “ odds and ends ” or assorted leftovers. It ’ s a cup of tea combining all those odds and ends into a stir-fry of kernel and vegetables, coated in a tasty sauce .
nowadays we might call chop suey a electric refrigerator clean-out cup of tea. You could add the death few carrots or mushrooms in the electric refrigerator, some celery, half a bell pepper, and a protein, like chicken breast or leftover rotisserie chicken, and voila ! You have a chicken chop suey !
The Origins of Chop Suey
There are many stories about the origins of chop suey. Some say it was brought over by chinese immigrants from Taishan, a city in Guangdong Province and home to many of the inaugural oversea Chinese in the United States .
Others say chinese chefs adapted the cup of tea for Westerners using familiar local ingredients ( celery, carrots, button mushrooms ) along with some bamboo shoots, water system chestnuts and bean sprouts to make it more “ Chinese. ”
Whatever the report, chop suey became the touch dish for many chinese restaurants, as you can tell by the many “ Chop Suey ” restaurant signs dotting the photograph below of San Francisco ’ s Chinatown :
Like the once celebrated Chicken Chow Mein, made with chopped chicken, onions, celery, cabbage, bean sprouts and deep fry noodles, Chop Suey was besides the product of the early evolution of chinese food in the US .
Substitutions
Because the mean of the smasher is “ odds and ends, ” feel free to use whatever ingredients you have available .
Use sliced bean curd rather of chicken, and you have a vegetable chop suey. Slice up some beef or a leftover assemble of rare steak, and you have a gripe chop suey. Use some leftover charwoman siu, and pork barrel chop suey is what ’ s on the menu !
You get the mind now. Whatever kind of classical chop suey ends up on your table depends on what you find in your refrigerator that night. Rest assured that you can use this recipe as a guidebook to make whatever version you like for your class !
Chicken Chop Suey: Recipe Instructions
Combine the slice chicken with water, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Massage the wimp until it absorbs all the liquid. next, mix in 1 teaspoon anoint and 2 teaspoons cornstarch until the chicken is uniformly coated. Set aside .
For a complete template on how to prepare chicken for stir-fry using this chinese velveting method, see our detailed post on How to Velvet Chicken .
In a small stadium, mix together all the sauce ingredients, and set away .
Heat your wok over high heat until lightly smoking, and pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil around the circumference. ( Heating the wok this way is cardinal to Judy ’ s method acting of non-stick wok cook. ) Spread the chicken in a single layer .
Sear for a few seconds, and then stir-fry the chicken for another 15 seconds, or until it is lightly gold brown and opaque. Remove the wimp from the wok and set aside. ( It should be about 80 % cooked at this decimal point. )
Pro tip: Searing the wimp adds frightful flavor to the dish. You can deglaze the wok with the wine and vegetables you ’ ll add future and retain all that chicken season. however, if you burn the wok at all ( you ’ ll see little burn bits forming on the surface ), be sure to wash it to remove any char particles .
Turn heat back up to gamey, and add an extra tablespoon of anoint along with the chop garlic .
once the garlic starts to sizzle, add in the mushrooms, carrots, and celery .
Stir fry for 20 seconds and add the bok choy .
Give everything a commodity stimulate and spread the Shaoxing wine around the circumference of the wok to deglaze it .
adjacent, stir up your prepared chop suey sauce and diffuse that around the circumference to further deglaze the wok. Use your wok spatula to give everything a immediate stimulate .
once the sauce begins to simmer, add in your bean sprouts and snow peas. besides add the chicken second to the wok .
When the sauce gets to a potent simmer or seethe, mix up your cornstarch slurry. Drizzle it into the sauce, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a consistency you like. Add more cornstarch slurry mix if you like the sauce slurred. For more details on cooking with cornstarch, see our post on how to use cornstarch in taiwanese cooking .
Cook for another 10 seconds to ensure everything is coated with the sauce. Serve immediately with steam rice !
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Chicken Chop Suey
Chop Suey is an “odds and ends” stir-fry of whatever meat and vegetables you have available in the fridge, invented in the early days of Chinese American cuisine.
serves:
4
Prep:
25
minutes
Cook:
10
minutes
Total:
35
minutes
Ingredients
For the chicken & marinade:
-
▢
12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast ( 340g, sliced into ¼ ” thick slices )
-
▢
3 tablespoons water ( 45 milliliter )
-
▢
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
-
▢
1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine ( or dry sherry )
-
▢
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
-
▢
2 teaspoons cornstarch
For the sauce:
-
▢
2/3 cup low sodium chicken stock ( 160 milliliter )
-
▢
1/4 teaspoon granulated boodle ( or brown sugar, 1g )
-
▢
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
-
▢
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
-
▢
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
-
▢
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
-
▢
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
For the rest of the dish:
-
▢
3 tablespoons vegetable anoint
-
▢
2 cloves garlic ( chopped )
-
▢
4
mushrooms ( white button or baby bella mushrooms, sliced ; about 50g )
-
▢
1/2 minor carrot ( 45g, thinly sliced )
-
▢
2/3 cup celery ( 80g, thinly sliced )
-
▢
6 ounces bok choy ( 170g, cut into ¾ ” x 2 ” pieces )
-
▢
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
-
▢
3/4 cup mung bean sprouts ( 3 ounces or 85g )
-
▢
1 cup snow peas ( 3 ounces or 85g )
-
▢
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch ( blend with 2 tablespoons water )
Instructions
-
Combine the sliced chicken with water, oyster sauce, and Shaoxing wine. Massage the chicken until it absorbs all the liquid. Next, mix in 1 teaspoon oil and 2 teaspoons cornstarch until the chicken is uniformly coated. Set aside.
-
In a small bowl, mix together all the sauce ingredients, and set aside.
-
Heat your wok over high heat until lightly smoking, and pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil around the perimeter. Spread the chicken in a single layer.
-
Sear for a few seconds, and then stir-fry the chicken for another 15 seconds, or until it is lightly golden brown and opaque. Remove the chicken from the wok and set aside. (It should be about 80% cooked at this point.)
-
Turn heat back up to high, and add an additional tablespoon of oil along with the chopped garlic. Once the garlic starts to sizzle, add in the mushrooms, carrots, and celery. Stir fry for 20 seconds and add the bok choy. Give everything a good stir and spread the Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok to deglaze it.
-
Next, stir up your prepared chop suey sauce and spread that around the perimeter to further deglaze the wok. Use your wok spatula to give everything a quick stir.
-
Once the sauce begins to simmer, add in your bean sprouts and snow peas. Also add the chicken back to the wok.
-
When the sauce gets to a strong simmer or boil, mix up your cornstarch slurry. Drizzle it into the sauce, stirring constantly, until it thickens to a consistency you like. Add more cornstarch slurry mix if you like the sauce thicker. Cook for another 10 seconds to ensure everything is coated with the sauce. Serve immediately with steamed rice!
nutrition facts
Calories:
274
kcal
(14%)
Carbohydrates:
13
g
(4%)
Protein:
22
g
(44%)
Fat:
15
g
(23%)
Saturated Fat:
10
g
(50%)
Cholesterol:
54
mg
(18%)
Sodium:
752
mg
(31%)
Potassium:
676
mg
(19%)
Fiber:
2
g
(8%)
Sugar:
4
g
(4%)
Vitamin A:
3541
IU
(71%)
Vitamin C:
39
mg
(47%)
Calcium:
74
mg
(7%)
Iron:
2
mg
(11%)
nutritional info disclaimer
TheWoksofLife.com is written and produced for informational purposes lone. While we do our best to provide nutritional data as a general road map to our readers, we are not certified nutritionists, and the values provided should be considered estimates. Factors such as brands purchased, natural variations in clean ingredients, etc. will change the nutritional information in any recipe. respective on-line calculators besides provide different results, depending on their sources. To obtain accurate nutritional information for a recipe, use your prefer nutrition calculator to determine nutritional information with the actual ingredients and quantities used .
